Kids & Family

Newport Women Head to Alaska to Reclaim Family's Gold

Follow five Newport Beach women on their quest to reclaim their inherited Alaskan gold mines on the new reality series, "Alaska Gold Diggers," on Animal Planet tonight at 8 p.m.

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A Newport mother, and her four adult daughters, are starring in a new reality series tonight that follows their quest to reclaim their family's gold mines in Alaska, far away from the luxuries of Newport Beach.

"Alaska Gold Diggers," premiering tonight at 8 p.m. on Animal Planet, is a six-episode series following Newport Beach resident SaraJane “SJ” Bartholomae, 67, and her daughters Kamme, 45, Korre, 43, Krista,42, and Tori, 37. Bartholomae inherited two gold mines from her father, William "Popper" Bartholomae, who was known as a "self made" oil and gold tycoon, and murdered when she was a child.

Reopening the family gold mines in Nome and Fairbanks, which were abandoned when William Bartholomae was killed, was a tribute to her father, Bartholomae said, and ended up strengthening her bond with her daughters.

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"There were plenty of trials and tribulations, but in the process of that, we became closer," Bartholomae explained. "There really is no other choice than to have each others back."

Bartholomae said living in Newport Beach is in stark contrast to life in the treacherous landscape of Alaska.

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"It's like living in the 1800s versus staying a a five-star hotel," Bartholomae said. "In Nome, we had no running water. We would bucket it from the river, boil it on an old oil burning stove, and wait for it to cool to the right temperature."

Nevertheless the women decided to tough it out.

Bartholomae decided to reclaim her family's mines once the gold prices hit an all-time high of $1,800 per ounce. The women raised thousands of dollars to get the Bartholomae's mines up and running, and they only had six weeks to do it, before the start of the Alaskan winter.

To watch Bartholomae and her daughters strive to strike gold, watch "Alaska Gold Diggers," tonight at 8 p.m. (ET/PT) on Animal Planet.

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